Raytheon Eyes T-100 Production Facility in Mississippi for Air Force Trainer Jet Program; Rick Yuse Comments

Raytheon plans to set up a facility in Meridian, Mississippi, to produce a training aircraft should the U.S. Air Force select the company’s bid for the Advanced Pilot Training program.

Raytheon said Monday it has teamed up with Leonardo-Finmeccanica, CAE‘s U.S. arm and Honeywell’s aerospace business to propose the T-100 Integrated Air Training System for the program.

The Advanced Pilot Training initiative, also known as the T-X trainer aircraft program, seeks to replace the service branch’s fleet of T-38 trainer planes.

Rick Yuse, president of Raytheon’s space and airborne systems business, said Meridian’s proximity to clients, talent base, infrastructure and government support make it an ideal location for the planned final assembly and check-out facility for the T-100 training jet, which is based on the Aermacchi M-346 aircraft.

Raytheon also operates a facility in Forest, Mississippi, that manufactures Active Electronically Scanned Array radars.